Those Thick Walls
by doryfishie
Summary: She had dug a hole, it wasn't very big, but it was enough to break his defenses.


**Hehe, i was bored...when I'm bored I decide to write cliched fanfics, got a problem with that?? Yeah...I do too! . Well, at any rate, I didn't expect it to turn out this cliched, but usually I just start with a summary and maybe an opening and go from there. Not a very good habit of writing, but I get by.**

**Listening to: Here (in your arms) by: hellogoodbye**

**Disclaimer: apparently, I don't own Naruto. I was under the impression that I did, cause you know, I write on this site and all...**

She didn't know when the crush had started. One day she just saw him practicing when her heart started racing and her face heated up. Love at first sight was what she called it back then.

Not now. Now she knew better; she knew him better. Before she was attracted to the image, the unattainable aura, it was so…unreachable.

He had always been that way: rejecting everyone. Every girl thought that if they could get through the barrier he had so carefully placed around his heart that he would change.

Those walls were so damn solid. She had tried multiple times to tear them down, but it didn't work. Well, not in the way she wanted. Her efforts and luck at being chosen as his teammate had allowed her a small advantage which she had used to make a tiny hole. It wasn't much, but it was more than most.

#-#-#

She had always been so…open. Her aura was everywhere. She was like a light, illuminating the surrounding area in a silver pool of light.

He saw it, but he was perhaps the only one. No one else noticed the difference in the air when she was near, but he did. Not that he'd ever admit it.

#-#-#

When he came back, she had been...even she didn't know. So many emotions had swirled inside her tiny body. Anger at his leaving, rejoicing in his coming back, sadness in the way he acted; the list went on and on.

As she observed him, she noticed that he hadn't changed very much. He was still dark and attractive. His personality was a little more withdrawn, and his emotions even more hidden, but other than that he was still her Sasuke-kun.

#-#-#

He saw the glances she threw his way every once in a while. As if looking to see if he was really there. He scoffed at the thought. She was still the same as she was back then.

Or maybe she wasn't. He had heard tales of her incredible strength and ability, and had even seen it in action once. She had also matured over the five years of separation. Her attraction to him was still present, but only if one looked hard enough.

God that girl was persistent.

#-#-#

Naruto had stopped asking her out every day years ago. She hadn't noticed it at first, but gradually began to miss his cute, if childish, crush on her. That's why, several months after Sasuke had come back, when he asked her out, she accepted.

It wasn't a particularly notable date, but at least it wasn't Ichiraku. They had gone to a nice diner a few blocks from the training grounds. She had actually enjoyed herself, and was surprised to say the least, when Naruto had offered to pay the bill.

The only awkward part had been when a certain Uchiha had walked by the window of the café. They had been sitting in the back, but she still noticed him staring at them through the glass for a few moments before continuing on.

The simple action had filled her with resentment. He was supposed to get jealous, not walk away. It wasn't fair.

Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of guilt engulfed her.

#-#-#

He didn't know why it bothered him so much. The two belonged together. Both of them were loud, obnoxious, and happy. Why they put up with him was a question that kept running through his head these days. He wouldn't have put up with himself if he had been someone else.

But he wasn't, so he had to deal with it. He had to deal with the death of his clan, the revelation of his brother, all the fan girls, and now them.

When he had seen them together laughing in the window, an emotion he once knew was planted in his ice-cold heart. It wasn't anger exactly, but it was close. If he had to, he associated it with memories of his brother, and how he was always the center of attention, especially to their father.

It wasn't a pleasant emotion.

#-#-#

She knew she couldn't see Naruto anymore. They had been 'dating' for the past several months, but it was more of one long guilt trip for her. She knew she didn't love Naruto; not in that way. That space was reserved for him, and had been since she was younger.

When she told him, he hadn't been angry, merely resigned. She knew that he knew of her love: it wasn't as if she had tried to hide it.

Still, it wasn't surprising that he had asked for a mission far from Konoha the day after.

#-#-#

Going on missions with the dobe wasn't his cup of tea. When said dobe was in a funk, it was...better. Usually, he didn't like his teammates to be depressed because their abilities would be affected, but if Naruto was unhappy, it could only be for two reasons: Ichiraku burned down, or Sakura broke up with him.

The feeling that had been growing inside him since the two had first hooked up vanished, not that he noticed. Also, if Naruto was depressed, it meant that he was quieter. Yup, the mission couldn't get any better.

#-#-#

"Sakura."

She turned around. It was reflexive, she realized, to turn when she heard his voice, "Sasuke-kun?"

He looked at her, face unreadable, "You broke up with Naruto." She knew that he knew that they were going out, but they never spoke of it, so to hear him bring it was unexpected. She answered nonetheless,

"Hai." He nodded to her response, and he seemed to relax, if only a little. This also surprised her. Since when did he care? When he began to walk away, something sprouted in her heart, growing larger with each step he took.

#-#-#

"Why?" He heard her voice, quiet at first, "Why Sasuke-kun?" When he didn't stop, she ran up to him, stopping in front of him, "Why don't you care?" When he saw her expression, something twisted inside him. She wasn't supposed to be unhappy. Her aura was supposed to bring light and joy.

The problem is he didn't know how to turn on the light. All he had ever done was turn it off: hurt her.

Well, today would be different. Today he would go back into that corner of his brain where he banished all unwanted and unnecessary feelings and find the one that had started it all.

#-#-#

She was angry, why shouldn't she be? He had hurt her so many times, yet he refused to let her go. It wasn't fair. The tears she had tried to fight came rushing out, and she choked back a sob as she turned away.

As she was about to start running, something grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Before she realized what was happening, she felt a pressure on her lips.

#-#-#

He didn't know why he did it, but that was something to worry about later. Right now, all coherent thoughts were lost as he relished in how right it felt.

#-#-#

Stunned was an understatement. Sure, she had dreamed of this moment, but to have it come true: it was ethereal. She had always known deep down that he had never liked her, not in that way. Having him kiss her in the middle of a sparsely populated street of Konoha was like a dream, no not dream, fairytale would be more like it, come true.

She smiled.

#-#-#

He felt her smile against his lips, but he also felt the air shift. Happiness, light, all the things he associated with her rosette hair filled the space around them. He smirked as well, and pulled back.

Her expression did not change for several moments, her eyes were glazed over and a soft smile played across her lips. When she did move, it was to touch the tip of her finger to her lips as if trying to sense the tingle he knew she felt because he felt the same thing.

And that was when she started crying again. Usually he hated those tears. They represented her hurt, her anger. These tears were different. They were her happiness.

#-#-#

She didn't know she had been crying until his finger brushed a tear away. Looking at him, she saw that his once emotionless eyes were smoldering with an emotion so strong it made her swagger. Before she could fall, strong arms encircled her: catching her.

That one action made her grin through the tears. She had finally broken through those damn thick walls.


End file.
